Sports
Basketball

Voyageurs get back on track

Manny Pasquale didn’t stay down — literally or figuratively — for very long.

Laurentian University’s star point guard was fouled hard by a University of Toronto player late in Saturday’s game, but popped back up quickly and even cracked a smile.

He was wearing a full grin only seconds later, after he took a pass near the top of the arc and drained three of his team-high 26 points to help stamp the home side’s 98-78 victory.

When Pasquale left the game to cheers from teammates and fans, it was clear that, after halting a five-game skid with wins over Ryerson and Toronto, Vees were having a good time again.

“Yes, that’s probably the biggest change,” said Pasquale, who also recorded four assists and three rebounds against U of T. “We’re having more fun playing. That was something we realized, that we were being too serious, too depressed. So we decided we should start being a team again, to have fun and stay together, and it’s working.”

Georges Serresse had 25 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Laurentian, which improved to 7-6, good for fifth in the OUA East standings.

Alex Ratte scored 15 points, Josh Budd 13 and Tychon Carter-Newman 11 for the Vees, who overcame a 35-34 halftime deficit by outscoring the visitors 37-24 in the third quarter and 27-19 in the fourth.

Toronto’s Alex Hill had a game-high 31 points, along with 11 rebounds. Teammate Arum Kumar scored 25 points and totalled five boards. Dakota Laurin, the player who hauled Pasquale down late in the game, helped his team’s cause with 10 rebounds.

Asked the difference between last weekend’s successful squad and the one that lost five straight, Laurentian head coach Shawn Swords pointed to effort.

“I always talk about outworking the other team,” Swords said. “And in every one of our losses, we were outworked. I can tell guys to work hard, but they have to realize that, too.”

Exchanges between Swords and Pasquale were certainly more civil than during their last home game, an 87-77 loss to Ottawa no Jan. 5.

Tensions showed in that contest when the point guard pulled up on an open shot, then applauded sarcastically in his coach’s direction.

Pasquale rode the pine for long stretches in that contest and Swords openly criticized him later for his apparent unwillingness to shoot the ball.

All ancient history, both insisted on Saturday.

“That was smoothed out right away,” Swords said. “I’m not one to let things fester. We dealt with all of that right away. We had a talk with the team and decided to move forward, and we did.

“You know, I’m still growing as a coach and the players are growing, too. They’re young adults. I think people forget that sometimes. They’re still learning, in certain situations, how to act. The big thing is how you build off of that.”

Swords liked his team’s early commitment to defence, which helped the Vees stay in the game even as their shooters struggled early in Saturday’s contest.

“I like the fact they’re getting excited about defence and rebounding,” Swords said.

Laurentian has a rematch with Ottawa at that school’s Monpetit Hall this Friday. The Vees visit Carleton’s Ravens Nest on Saturday.

Both games are 8 p.m. starts.

LADY VEES GO DOWN FIGHTING

Don’t get Mike Clarke wrong. The Laurentian Lady Vees’ head coach wanted as much as anyone to beat the Toronto Varsity Blues.

But his team’s effort in a 66-62 defeat — despite the loss of starting point guard Sasha Polishchuk to an ankle injury the night before — left him with few complaints.

“It would have been nice to win tonight,” Clarke said. “It’s just hard, on such short notice, to change your playing style. When your leading scorer can’t play and you have no practices to get ready, that’s tough. But we didn’t fall apart.”

Quite the opposite, in fact. Danielle Harris, with 17 points and four rebounds, Emma Decloe, with 14 points and 10 boards, Jenna Davidson, with 12 points, and Devenae Bryce, with seven, all earned praise from Clarke for their standout performances.

“This was a great opportunity for someone to step up,” Clarke said. “I’m proud of them.”

Laurentian fell to 5-8, good for fifth in the conference, but has good wins over first-place Carleton and Ryerson since the Christmas break.

They’ll try for two more big victories this Friday and Saturday, when they visit Ottawa and Carleton.